dADdY's LiTtLe GirL

"Na wa o! Which kind yeye oyibo im wan do sef?"....The neighbours just thought his actions were rather ridiculous and outlandish. What was he doing, you may ask? My Father in a bid to stop me (a toddler then) from getting messed up with sand in my grand-ma's compound, would tie me to his back with a wrapper and then ...(this is the ridiculous part)...then he would TIE HIS BELT ACROSS MY BACK TO HIS STOMACH to secure me from falling...lol...funny but touchy.

Touchy cause his action just exuded his depth of love for me (for that role is ordinarily a woman's) but he looked beyond himself for love-sake & is ever still involved in every detail of my Growth & Development. Wow! I just Love him.

Today's lesson talks of the Amazing Care of Our Creator. God is so intimately involved in caring for his people. So much so that David in the 139th chapter of his book of songs especially verse 17 expresses his depth of understanding & praises him for his care.

You will agree with me that the seemingly innovative TV trend of round-the-clock-observation & reality shows isn't original, GOD has been FULLY AWARE of You since before Time. Psalm 139 besides expressing gratitude & praise vividly illustrates two of God's attributes- Omni-Presence & Omniscience. So, no matter what we're facing (challenges & troubles), we can be sure God never loses sight of us, He knows your name, your need and that's just beautiful.

Today you must carefully take time to do the following:
--- Consider the extent of God's intimate knowledge of all parts of their lives
--- Take Comfort in knowing that God is always with them regardless of life's circumstances
--- Experience peace in the knowledge that God cares for them

Even if you try, dear friend, YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM GOD (so stop running, stop rejecting his love & enjoy his presence). Well, is that Comforting or Embarrassing?...lol...depends on how you see it...But hey, I’m not ashamed to say I’m Daddy's Girl...Where do you stand?

Sweetheart, even now having known God's intimate concern for us & setting our hearts right with him, we have a great opportunity to tell others about God's love and care; People everywhere desperately need to know God's personal love for them.

I'm Daddy's (God's) Little Girl and I’m not ashamed to share his love; Are you? Choose your path today!!!

ABC of Salvation

What gives you a sense of self worth? What makes you lovable?Questions about self-esteem are common today. People who have a realistic and positive view of themselves do better than those who are encouraged and critical of themselves.

In their quest for self-esteem people have sometimes lost their sense of direction. The Gospel that proclaims Jesus came to save people from sin seems to some like a judgement on their worth. In reality, it is an affirmation of value of every person to GOD.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is one of the most popular bible scriptures that both “Non-Christian and Christians” alike can easily quote, without the full understanding of what it really means and what God is saying.

Here, in this scripture are details and revelations that explain how simple it is to be saved. In this scripture is the simple direction, the ABC to get saved.

During much of Jesus’ ministry, large number people followed Him, to hear from Him, touch Him, see the various miracles He would perform and as for a few, tempt Him. Today’s Sunday school lesson tries to lay emphasis on the events that were recorded in the bible by Luke. It contrasts two people who wanted to see Jesus- Simon (self righteous man) and an unnamed woman (prostitute sinner).

Are there any similarities between Simon and the woman???

There are many questions that are to be asked in this lesson, some of which are best answered personally, to what’s in our hearts and mind. We must learn the attitudes of these two actors here, towards being close to Jesus and our hospitability towards him in our hearts.

The really question about this lesson that must be answered rhetorically is:

·        Are we Simon or the Sinful woman???

    ·       How do we treat those people we consider as sinners?

·        What are the barriers that keep people from trusting Jesus for Salvation?

·        How can we show our love for Jesus for the forgiveness he has shown us?

·        What does God really want from us?

God has made loads of provisions for our redemption, through the blood of His son and through faith in His word. God sent His son into the world to save the lost. Each of us need to first believe in His word, then we can gain life eternal and then we now boast of been Christians. We need to consider our faith in Christ for salvation and guard our hearts, least we take his grace for granted.

Guard your heart; Appreciate God’s wondrous Grace,his forgiveness and express our love and gratitude to the Saviour (JESUS) daily.

bLiNd OnLy PlEaSe...Shine Ur Eye!

A Friend of mine told me this story. "God has given me a friend who lost his sight when he was about 12 years old or so. Craig Nelson and I have spent a fair bit of time together, especially in our travels to India and Africa. Observing Craig’s response to his own blindness has been a great inspiration to me, and watching people of the Third World relate to Craig has greatly enhanced my appreciation for our text. 

When Craig and his friend landed at the airport in Delhi a few years ago, their first task was to go through customs. The experience there was unlike anything they have gone through anywhere else in the world that I have visited. We were led to a large metal building (something like a storage building, but with no air conditioning) which served as the “overseas terminal” and customs area. We were questioned by a customs official who asked all the standard questions. Suddenly, it dawned upon him that Craig was handicapped in some way. In his British accented English he asked me, “Is he a sick man?” Craig responded, “I’m blind.” From that point on, the customs official would not speak directly to Craig. He spoke only to me, even when the question pertained to Craig. For all intents and purposes, Craig was not regarded as a person—at least not by this fellow."

The people never interact socially, never nod, never say “Hello” or “Thanks” or “Pardon me.” The simple fact is that the blind are, without question and without exception, beggars. There are so few laws, if any, which prescribe and protect the rights of the blind. There are no Braille buttons on elevators (at least that I ever saw); there is no special handicapped status. The blind are almost completely ignored. As it is in the Third World today, so it was in Jesus’ day. John 9: 1-41

Today's, TOPIC, Faith To See. It goes beyond our need for physical sight, but it also the need for spiritual sight. You will also find that the FOCUS of the lesson today is on the importance of spiritual sight and trust Jesus for clear vision of who He is. The CENTRAL TRUTH is through faith in Christ, we gain spiritual sight.


Now the lesson proper:
People tend to ask questions to try to determine why someone is having troubles. However, these questions are more often than not looking to assign blame, not to try to figure out how the trouble can be addressed. This only Qualifes us all as Blind People. Somehow, being able to blame someone or something seems to make it easier for us to deal with feelings such situations cause.  Jesus wanted to teach his disciples to understand it is more important to remove evil than to explain it.

In this case, the man’s lifelong inability to see was an opportunity for God’s work on two levels:

• By healing him, Jesus could show he was truly doing the work of God (John 9: 3 & 4). He could show God’s love for individuals in need.

• Even of greater importance is that through this man’s healing, Jesus could illustrate the sharp difference between those who were spiritually blind and those who had received spiritual sight.  The neighbours were blinded by his past & the pharisees were blinded by religion.  A classic case of the Blind leading the blind.

We often suffer from limited vision also. We see what we expect to see, physically and spiritually. It may be hard for us to see through God’s eyes, because we may have limiting beliefs about what is possible.

Christians today are reaching out to the lost on every continent. Through aid groups, they even meet needs in countries that forbid evangelism. Jesus healed this man’s sight, but that was not His end goal. Meeting physical needs can prepare a person to respond to God.

As Christ’s body, we should do work that He (God) did. Nevertheless, Jesus’ main concern was not physical. He gave sight to the blind so He could also bring spiritual sight to many. Jesus paired healing with new spiritual sight.

Our own lack of need can blind our eyes. If we are satisfied with our lives and our own goodness, we are blind to our real spiritual condition. Jesus said, "I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind.  If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty." (John 9:39 & 41 TEV)

Things are different today. The line is drawn. There are those who know they need God and are willing to trust Jesus for clear vision. Moreover, there are those who will continue in spiritual blindness because they refuse to acknowledge their need for the light of the world.

To which of the above-mentioned group do you belong dear blind friend? Do you still need to carry with you the white stick indicating your blindness or will you acknowledge like the Healed blind man? “Who is He, Lord that I may believe in Him?” (John 9:35).

Through Faith in Christ we gain Spiritual sight giving us a clear vision of Who Christ really is and how much of our lives he can transform.

Shine your Eye Today! See Jesus & have Him Restore You!

DESPERATE TIMES CALLS FOR DESPERATE MEASURES

TOPIC:                             FAITH BORN OF  DESPERATION

MEMORY VERSE:             MARK 9:23 "Jesus said to him, 

                                        If thou canst believe, all 

                                        things are possible to him that 

                                         believeth.

 

FOCUS:                           To reframe desperation as a 

                                         catalyst for faith and grow in 

                                         our ability to trust God.

What is the worst problem you can imagine? A dying loved one? An epidemic? War? What problem seems so big that nothing touches it?

How do you feel when you think about this problem? Depressed? Hapless? Angry? We can be paralyzed with fear. Unable to act, we don’t know how to go on.

Such problems can be reframed in a way that increases faith. If we see God as the One who has power in impossible situations, our trust in Him grows.

 

Looking at the story of Centurion, he acknowledged Jesus’ authority by:

1.     He approached Jesus with humility

2.    He also showed that he knew that Jesus had the power to do something about his problem

3.    He understood that Jesus had real power over all of God’s creation.

Jesus was amazed by this Gentile man’s faith (Matthew 8:10)

When we really trust God, we believe that He has the power heal us, but we must also trust Him to do what is best if He does not heal us. Our despair can lead us into a closer relationship with Jesus. This close relationship can help us live through terrible times as well as overcome them.

It is not our perfect faith the brings healing but God’s power, when we trust God enough to ask Him in prayer (Mark 9:28,29).

 

The woman in Matthew 15, believe Jesus could heal her child. Yet she also knew that her background should cause her not to expect help from a Jew. 
But she was so desperate that she sought Jesus’ help anyway. Her desperation was a catalyst to her faith.

Sometimes, the delays to answers to our prayers may be because:

a.    The spiritual condition of our heart

b.    The straitening of our faith

c.    God’s timing

But we should remember that a time of despair is an opportunity to understand who God really is.

ACTION PLAN

Are there problems which seem so hopeless that you don’t even dare to ask God? As they come to your mind, don’t dismiss them. Write the problems down and begin to make them part of your prayer.
 

Today, make a list of your resources for prayer. Who is willing to pray with you? With whom could you share your problems? Now is the time to begin to approach God about these stubborn problems. We need others to pray with us. They also need us.

 

Who in your community may be in despair, in need to God’s help? As a class, brainstorm ways to reach these people. As an individual, figure out some way to reach out to help those who are in need.